Travel scheme could see major Fife roads closed to vehicles

Fife Council was awarded £2.42m from the Scottish government’s new ‘Spaces for People’ fund, which aims to make essential travel and exercise safer during Covid-19.

The programme, which is managed by Sustrans on behalf of the government, is for temporary infrastructure to make it safer for people to walk, cycle or wheel for essential trips and exercise during Covid-19.

Fife Council suggested a number of changes to Sutrans, which has approved around 100 of them. Included in the proposals were suggestions that could see a road closure on West Port, barriers put in place and parking removed on Bell Street and Church Street, and Market Street closed to vehicles. Meanwhile, in Cupar, similar changes could be made to Bonnygate, Crossgate and St Catherine Street.

The suggestions approved will now be moved to the next stage. This will involve further investigation work, such as survey work, design progress and public engagement.

The level of public engagement will depend on the nature of the work. For example, increasing pedestrian space locally would most likely be restricted to adjacent properties, while more major work would require a larger dialogue with local communities.

Cllr Brian Thomson said the public should be consulted before changes are made: “It’s clear that there would be significant challenges to overcome in St Andrews town centre if the two metres social distancing rule remains in place whilst other restrictions are eased, and it may be that some temporary measures need to be put in place to accommodate that.

“It’s not been confirmed yet what suggestions for St Andrews are likely to be progressed, but some may be controversial, particularly any that would include the temporary closure of streets to motor vehicles. I’ve been given no indication to date as to what level of consultation would be carried out, however, my opinion is that the views of businesses and public transport providers should be taken into account before any schemes proceed in the town centre.”